


Fight or flight

by ForceDJ



Series: The Ties That Bind Us [1]
Category: Kylo Ren - Fandom, Reylo - Fandom, Star Wars, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015)
Genre: Eventual Smut, F/M, Kylo Ren Has Issues, Kylo takes his shirt off as much as possible, Plot, Resistance, Slow Burn, X-Wings, Y-wings, bit of Violence, but not enough
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-08
Updated: 2017-02-24
Packaged: 2018-09-15 20:11:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 18,936
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9254591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ForceDJ/pseuds/ForceDJ
Summary: Kylo is searching and Rey is training. They have a destiny but what is it?





	1. Chapter 1

Rey woke in response to a metallic rasping clash. Her alarm was immediate. She was restrained on a metal table. The lighting was dim but clear and the masked figure that had hunted her in the forest was crouched before her. He must have been watching her while she was unconscious. Her heart rate increased.

"Where am I?" The masked figure looked at her for a moment.

"You're my guest." His voice was deep and smooth and mechanically enhanced.

"Where are the others?" He twitched.

"You mean the murderers, traitors and thieves you call friends? You'll be relieved to hear that I have no idea." There was a pause and she tested her restraints again. She was firmly strapped in place but not painfully so. "You still want to kill me?" There was a hint that he was surprised. 

She took a breath.

"That happens when you're being hunted by a creature in a mask.." 

A beat of silence as he looked at her and then she watched him remove the helmet from his head as he stood. 

He was young and dark haired. His face open and strong but not beautiful. His stare was intense and she felt a shiver run through her as she realized that he was reading her immediate reactions to him. His expression didn't reveal anything. He walked to her side.

"Tell me about the droid." His voice was assured and gentle. It didn't matter. She felt the threat.

"He's a BB unit with a selenium drive and a thermal hyperscan vindicator --" 

He broke in on her.

"He's carrying a section of navigational chart. We have the rest, recovered from archives of the Empire. We need the last piece. And somehow, you convinced the droid to show it to you. You." He paused. " A scavenger --" 

Rey tried to keep her face impassive but was confused as to how he could know so much. He bent closer to her face. She glanced up at him and then away. His eyes were fixed on her face. 

"You know I can take whatever I want." His voice was even and smooth but there was no escaping the threat of his words. 

She felt adrenalin spike as his hand drew close to the side of her face. Then she felt the warmth of him push into her mind. She glanced at him in surprise as a feeling washed between them balanced and was gone. Then he pushed harder and there was pain but also a dizzy heat that spread from the top of her head slowly down her body making her light headed.

All she was aware of was him. He was so close to her face that she felt his breath on her neck. His voice began just above a whisper. 

"... You're so lonely... so afraid to leave... At night, desperate to sleep... you imagine an ocean. I see it -- I see the island..." 

She tried to resist him but he was relentless and she felt hot tears on her cheek. She clenched her teeth. 

"And Han Solo. You feel like he's the father you never had. He would've disappointed you." 

Rey turned to face him anger spiking through her.

"Get out of my head." 

He came slightly closer.

"I know you've seen the map. It's in there... and now you'll give it to me. Don't be afraid." She pulled at the restraints. His face was unreadable. "I feel it too."

From somewhere a strength started to flow in Rey’s mind. She felt a wall of energy build in her. And as she spoke she knew it was truth.

"I'm not giving you anything." 

The man dressed in black started back from her and came to face her directly - his gloved hand stretched towards her face. A slight tremor took him.

"We'll see." 

And then Rey felt the push against her mind increase but unlike before she had something to push back with, and she did push, with all of her might. She found her body leaning forwards towards him in a physical expression of the mental energy she was directing at him. 

They stared at each other as the battle increased between them. The man started to look shocked and took a step back and then all of sudden Rey was aware that she and broken through to his mind. A place of heat and ice, love and rage and a deep abiding fear that she moved towards although she didn't understand how. And then suddenly she knew; and felt the power of knowing his weakness. 

"... You... you're afraid... that you will never be as strong as... Darth Vader!" 

The push against her was gone. He reared back in confusion and shock his breathing labored his eyes never leaving her face. And then he turned and went.

 

Rey sat looking out at the sea as birds hovered above the cliffs their voices a lonely cry. She never tired of the view. Never ceased to be amazed at the power of so much water. She pulled her grey cloak about her. The sun was retreating behind the horizon and the air was becoming chill. 

Rey thought that after a year of being on the island with Luke her Master the time had come for them to leave and re-join the resistance. Luke was reluctant to interrupt her training and had been firm in his insistence that Rey got the basics completed before venturing out into the wider Galaxy. She bowed her head to her master and hid her rebellious thoughts. 

She understood that after what had happened with Ben Solo he was averse to putting her in a situation that might tempt her to the dark side without the training to resist. She thought he saw something in her that made him uneasy and yet they had not talked about the turmoil she felt.

The universe needed Luke Skywalker again. They needed his wisdom, they needed the symbol he was, to fight for, and Leia needed her brother. Rey was aware of all these things and also her impatience at ending up on a backwater planet again away from her friends.

She sighed. Something else called to her although she didn't like to face it and she hadn't told her master about it. When she slept, or when she meditated she felt something there. A yearning presence, a need that could not be filled. Fear and rage and darkness, but not just that, a warmth that was seductive. Rey had been in his mind just once but that was enough - now he was always there just beneath the surface. 

She wasn't reading his mind, she thought, but she was always aware that he was existing somewhere in that huge expanse of mostly nothingness. 

Her destiny lay with Kylo Ren for good or for bad. She did not pretend to know all the ways of the force but she did know that he would figure in her future and that she must be prepared to face him. She had beaten him twice but she was under no illusions that this would happen a third time. He had been taken unawares by her power and wanted to take her alive if he could. Now that she had marked him and drawn first blood their next meeting would probably not be friendly. 

Rey shut her eyes and wondered what his face looked like now with a scar. She stood suddenly to break the thoughts and started walking back to her hut. Night was falling and they were early to bed and early to rise on this little island.

That night she dreamt of him again. They were in a dark cave and she could hear him searching for her, his feet scuffing the dusty ground, while she crouched in a corner. She pushed herself against the rock wall trying to be silent.

“Where are you?” A whisper filled the space and sought her. 

Terror made her heart race. She reached for her lightsaber but there was nothing at her side. 

“Where are you?” his voice was louder. 

She thought she could feel him close. 

“Face me.” 

And though the beat of blood rushed through her head she found herself standing and turning towards a flickering red light. It blinded her to the person beyond it. He moved his weapon to his side and walked towards her. She could see the edge of his face and the dark pits of his eyes edged with crimson. 

Rey tried to move but couldn't and she thought that her heart would burst in her chest from the terror. He loomed above her and she felt the heat of him as an arm pulled her against his body. 

And then the floor fell away and they were spinning in the stars as he held her.

“Where are you?” 

She resisted and shook her head even as she clung to him so that she was not lost in the vast expanse.

“Where are you?” 

He held her harder.

“No” She cried suddenly finding a voice.

“Let me in.” 

Pressure was building around her. She arched against him. 

“Let. Me. In.” He growled. 

The pain was sharp and hot. Her skull felt like it was going to burst and suddenly he broke through.

He was everywhere, filling her all at once, hungry and searching and she felt an exquisite unexpected heat build up to wash the pain away. She felt extreme shame that he could see everything but at the same time there was no way to hide. 

There was a momentary stillness as he paused in his search and looked at her surface thoughts. She felt her body on the edge of release and wanting something she couldn’t put a name to. 

Then she felt him slowly moving towards her pleasure, pushing at it, entering it, and then stretching it so that she could no longer hold anything or anywhere from him and she rode the explosion that expanded towards the stars holding him in her until the waves of her orgasm waned. 

In that time of weakness, just for a moment, she wished that he were there with her in this lost place and just as quickly she clamped down on the thought but he was too fast and grabbed at it and held on to it. The last thing she felt as she woke, sweaty and panting, was his triumph.

Rey rose immediately and stood in the darkness hearing the wind and the sea but seeing nothing. She went out of the hut and a fine rain cooled her face. 

She was afraid. This was a dream that she had had many times in the last three months but it had never ended in the way that it had just now. Her eyes just made out her surroundings from a large moon behind scudding clouds. She moved towards the steps that would take her to the summit of the island.

At the top she went to stand at the edge of the cliff hearing the waves crashing far below her. She felt the cold wet grass beneath her feet and tried to centre herself and shake off her dream. She slowed her breathing and let go of herself. Rey emptied her mind and felt the calm and comfort of the light. Was it just a dream she asked hoping for some sort of answer. None came.


	2. Chapter 2

Rey remained on the summit of the island until the first light of dawn could be seen in the north. She had searched for answers and rather than finding any sense of peace, she only felt alarm. If she was honest there was a clear feeling of danger. Something was coming. She could dismiss these feeling as the wild imaginings and fears that had always scared her in the lonely darkness but this felt different. She decided that she must go and tell Luke.

She finally raised herself from the crossed leg pose she had adopted finding herself so stiff that she almost fell. 

At Luke’s hut she paused before knocking. She didn’t like to disturb him so early but her sense of danger was persistent and urgent. She looked to the sky for a moment fearing that at any moment she would see lights moving towards them. She didn’t. Everything was peaceful cut by the ever violent sea. Rey took a deep breath and then beat at the damp wood of his door. She was surprised when she heard movement inside almost immediately. Luke opened the door. There was already a small fire burning and he was fully dressed.

“Come in. Come to the fire.” 

She did as she was bid a number of questions springing to her lips but she kept them in her head for now. With Luke, she found, it was better to think before she asked. 

Luke shut the twilight dawn out and brought a steaming cup of liquid to her. He indicated she should sit on the mat while he sat on a low stool. She took the tea and sipped only now realising how cold and damp she had been.

“I thought you would be asleep.” 

She looked up into his weary face. He was looking at her intently.

“I felt your turmoil and something else…” He looked up and appeared to be listening. Then shook his head slightly and looked back at her. “You have come to tell me something.”

Rey took a breath and then found that she couldn’t think of where to start or what to reveal. She looked into the flames of the fire for a moment and willed herself to have courage. She trusted her Master.

“Master I think somebody is coming. I feel the danger.” Suddenly to speak of her fear was to make it more real for her. “Oh master I haven’t told you about the dreams. I have been having dreams where…” She trailed off not knowing how to talk about Kylo Ren to Luke. 

Luke leant forward and took her hand.

“Go on. Let go of the fear and the darkness. The force will guide us. Trust it.” 

He didn’t let go of her hand. Rey took a calming breath and let go of the tension that had built in her. She opened herself to the Force and let it calm her and then let the words come freely.

“Master, I have had dreams of Kylo Ren since the destruction of Star Killer base. They don’t feel like my other dreams. He is always looking for me, always searching. Sometimes we see each other but I know he doesn’t really find me.” She paused looking up at Luke. She couldn’t read anything from his expression. “Last night I think he may have learned where we are.” She grimaced. “I think I may have revealed it to him.” 

Luke leant back letting go of her hand.

“You think that my nephew can enter your dreams?” He didn’t sound dismissive as she had feared he would.

“I didn’t believe it could be so Master, for so long, but yes I believe he really is in my dreams and now he is coming for us. Soon.” 

She looked at her drink. It seemed silly to drink tea when she expected the forces of darkness to descend on them at any moment.

“Rey.” She looked back at her Master. “These are troubling things of which you speak and I would usually council that meditation and looking to the Force would bring the answers that we need. But,” He paused and his expression became more grim. “I have also felt the danger. I have felt a change in the nature of the force and I would be a fool to ignore the warning signs.” 

He stood suddenly. 

“I was that fool once before and look what it brought and keeps on bringing.” He walked to his table and she noticed a bag on it. “I can sense that you wish to flee and I agree. If he comes he will not come alone and you are not trained. Child, it is time to go. Retrieve your things.” 

He picked up his bag. Rey felt adrenalin spike through her. Her shock at the turn of events rooted her to the floor. 

“Quickly! The storm is almost upon us.” 

Rey jumped to her feet and ran to the door pulling it open. 

“Rey.” 

She looked back at Luke. 

“I will meet you at the ship.” 

She ran. 

 

It wasn’t far to her dwelling and in the grey morning light she was there quickly pushing open the door. It was very dark inside but she didn’t need a light to know where the bag that held her few meagre possessions were and the staff resting by her bed in the corner. 

She took a step inside and then stopped as a feeling of dread washed over her. Rey had an overwhelming sense that she was not the only person in the small space. She tried to back out as quickly as she had entered but the door slammed behind her and then she knew who was there as clearly as if she had seen him. His force signature was revealed in all it’s turbulent violence. Kylo Ren lit his light sabre and she could finally see him. Masked and looking seemingly relaxed.

“Going somewhere?” 

His head tilted slightly to the side regarding her with interest. Rey was overcome by shock and the realisation that she stood before him with no weapon, no way to defend herself. Luke’s original lightsaber was at the bottom of her bag and her staff would not defend her from Kylo’s hissing blade. There was nothing she could do. 

Rey took a breath to calm herself but it didn’t do her any good. How had he come so quickly? How had she not sensed that he was already here?

“Will you come without a fight? My forces are dealing with Skywalker. He is vastly outnumbered and you are unarmed. It is hopeless for you to resist.”

He held out an arm to her. 

“Come.” 

She couldn’t say that she didn’t think about it. She didn’t see a way out but submission was not something that had ever come naturally to her. Not to a creature as vile as him.

“No.” 

He sighed. 

“The hard way then?” 

His stance changed subtly and Rey felt her heart stutter. 

At the same moment that Kylo raised his hand to attempt to freeze her, Rey ducked and rolled to her staff grabbing it and swiftly jabbing his side with it. He was knocked a few paces back, more from surprise than anything else. She turned and grabbed up her bag and then force pushed the door with all her might. She ran for the light expecting at any moment to feel the heat of his blade in her back but it didn’t come. 

She made it out of the door and up a few of the steps. Luke had hidden his original ship in an island cave and there was only one path to reach it. 

Kylo stooped to exit her little hut watching her run, not urgent in his pursuit. After a few moments he followed, taking the steps two at a time. 

Rey’s legs started to burn with the effort of trying to reach the summit but her fear drove her to work harder. She was almost at the level space at the top. Once there she went left veering towards the hidden path that Luke had shown her only a few times before. Then she stopped. She couldn’t lead Kylo to it. She had to deal with him before she attempted the treacherous path downwards.

Rey turned dropping her staff and reaching into her canvas bag gripping the light sabre at the bottom of it. She pulled it out and ignited it taking a few steps backwards away from the steps that Kylo Ren was about to appear from. The wind was cold and damp and the sea was ever present but Rey noticed none of these things as she felt him come closer. And then he was there, rising up like a nightmare but only too real. He took in her stance and raised his own weapon to mirror her but made no move.

“You cannot beat me this time Scavenger. I am at full strength and am not injured. You would do best to lower your weapon and speak to me.” 

Rey felt rage course through her.

“Nothing you have to say would interest me. You disgust me.” Her voice was low and strained. 

Rey heard the sounds of blasters coming from behind her from over the drop in the cliff. Had the forces with Kylo reached the ship? Would they overcome Luke? Worry for him made her look over her shoulder momentarily.

“We know each other better than that, don’t we?” His voice had become softer even with the modulation. “We are linked, you and I. You can fight it, but you can’t escape it. I think you know that already.”

“I don’t want anything to do with you.” She screamed her passionate hatred of him and at the same moment moved forward with an overhead strike. 

He defended easily and then spun to come at her from the side. Rey danced backwards as the heat of his blade singed some of her clothing. Then she stopped thinking and just started to react as their battle seemed to become a dance that she already knew the steps to. It quickly became apparent to Rey that Kylo was right and that she was not going to be able to beat him this time. 

Luke had not wanted to focus on battle before she got some mastery of her emotions. Something she found difficult.

As her feelings of anger towards Kylo abated she began to tire. Her sleepless night and the loss of adrenalin were adding up and she started to make sloppy mistakes. She was consistently losing ground to Kylo and couldn’t see a way to escape. He was dogged in his attack and soon she found herself at the edge of the cliff. The sea way beneath her foaming at rocks. It was reminiscent of standing at the ravine on Star Killer but she felt no surge of energy and no assurance that she could get herself out of the situation.

Kylo surprised her by taking a step back and lowering his weapon. 

“I don’t wish to kill you if I can avoid it.” He was breathing hard and his voice sounded desperate. “Let me teach you. You have so much potential and power but you are wasting it here!”

"I would rather die. So just do it. If you can." 

She raised her lightsaber in defiance.

"That old man cannot help you. I can. I know where you came from. I know you. Come with me and I will show you everything.”

Rey looked at him for a long moment. “You know who my parents were?” 

Kylo took a small step forward his weapon ignited but lowered.

“That and much more.” His voice was low but intense. 

She had been with Luke for year and although it was clear from their first conversation that he was not her father he wouldn’t give her any further information. That, and the unwillingness to teach her to fight greatly frustrated her.

Now she saw clearly how tempting the first steps to the Dark Side could be. Just little things, but things you yearned for with all your heart. She looked at Kylo Ren, his massive presence overwhelming in a physical and force sense and imagined for a moment what would happen if she just gave up. Was there a part of her that could do the things that Kylo had done? Could she kill and torture and lay waste to all that was dear to her. 

No. She couldn’t be that person. Not today. But in a moment of clarity she recognised the darkness that had always been with her. Saw that it existed and that she might not always escape it. She took a step backwards and felt the updraft cold at her back.

"I don’t want to turn to the Dark Side.” Her voice was quiet and Kylo came forward a pace his off hand reaching for her.

“You don’t know about the dark side. It isn’t what you have been told.”

Hot outrage spiralled out of her core . 

“I watched you murder you’re father.” Her voice was ugly and strained. “That, is all I need to know.” 

She felt the sudden spike of his rage even before he raised his sabre high above his head. Rey reacted with a sharp and sudden force push to his centre and then she turned and leaped forward from the cliff. She heard a cry of anguish behind her as she plummeted and in no time at all she hit and was consumed by the cold dark ocean.


	3. Chapter 3

Leia awoke before it was light, screaming silently from the nightmare that had gripped her. She sat up in bed to try and distance herself from the feelings. She had been dreaming of Ben again. Only moments before she had had his warm body cradled protectively in her arms. His little mouth nuzzling at her breast for milk as she stared intently at his dark lashes and the contended huffs of breath he made. But soon enough the baby was slipping from her grasp even as she tried so hard to hold onto him. The darkness beating down on them and the baby screaming.

Leia started to sob again. She took up a pillow and muffled the deep anguished moan that came from deep in her gut. She wanted to fight something or kick something but yet again she didn’t think that there was anything she could do.

She had lost everyone that she had ever loved. She had sent her husband to his death. Her son was living in hell, she knew, she knew it in the darkest part of her. Her agony and guilt did not stop but she couldn’t think what to do but carry on as she had always done. She must do her duty, she must lead her people, she must fight the dark side.

Arguably doing her duty had lost her a son. Ben had always had nightmares, he would turn up at all hours of the night trying to wriggle into her arms with stories of monsters. Then rather than hold him, she had taken him back to his bed because she knew it was only hours until she would have to be back in the senate, doing her duty. 

Some days she felt mad and wanted to claw at her own skin for the mistakes that she had made. That she had not listened, she had not protected and in the end she had sent him to her brother and washed her hands of him completely. Then Luke had failed him just as she had done and they lost him. She could blame Snoke, but she allowed the monster in through her own emotional neglect and she knew it.

Leia got out of bed knowing that she could sleep no more. The floor was cold and her bones protested as she tried to stretch the kinks out. She went towards her fresher hoping that the hot water would wash away some of the pain but bitter experience told her otherwise.

A few hours later she was looking at resourcing plans and wondering how the Resistance was going to feed itself for the next few months let alone fix all the problems they were having with their power generation and aircraft. There were always a million little problems that seemed to come across her desk. The command structure in the resistance was entirely too flat for her liking. Still, at least decision making was as straight forward as it could get. A small group of people in a room was better than a large group of people in a room any day.

She sighed, her head was hurting and all this mundane work had not removed the grip of the dark tendrils of her nightmare. 

Leia got up and went to the refectory to get some Caff. She sat in a darkened corner hoping that today no one would disturb her but she had been there two minutes when a young officer approached her. She fixed her professional smile to her face. She was very good at being a diplomat, she had always been a diplomat, even if she was as tough as old Bantha hide.

“Report.” Her voice was low and gravelly.

“General.” He dipped his head. “There have been sightings of the first order in the same system as Ahch-To. We have some stealth satellites in the system and they reported a small force.” The boy paused. Well really he was a grown man but he looked impossibly fresh to her. “Kylo Ren’s personal ship was also identified.” 

The deep thrum of her heartbeat was immediate. Fear and joy mixed together with embarrassment at any mention of her son. He was still alive, he was still breathing. Then quick on the heals of that reaction, fear for her brother and Rey. It could be no coincidence that Ben was in the same system as Ahch-To.

“Has Luke been in touch?” She asked as she stood, her caff forgotten.

“No word and no response to our hails.” 

Leia’s thoughts were quick and decisive. “Send a squadron.” She started walking towards the command centre. “Get ready a second. It may be a trap but we have to take the risk.” 

The young man who she now remembered was called Brendan turned away from her to relay her orders. She carried on mentally gearing herself up for an argument.

The command centre was a disturbed hive as she walked in. Three different underlings tried to get her attention but she waved them away as she sighted the only person that could really stop her plans. General Allund was the other general on the base at the moment. She caught his eye as she walked across the room and he waved away the two pilots he had been talking to as she approached.

“I’ve put a squadron in the air.” He nodded – this was not news to him. “I’m going to send another as back-up.” He smiled a patient smile. He knew her well enough to know that there was more coming. “I’m going to take the Eclipse and go get my brother.” Finally she saw his characteristic but not unattractive frown mar his forehead.

Aledena Allund was ten years her junior, charismatic, and had a force of character and wit that matched her own. They liked each other, but that didn’t mean they always agreed. He took her arm and steered her towards his room. His grip was gentle but firm. As soon as the door was shut behind them she shook off his hand.

“So you’re going to say no?” She could feel anger rise up in her almost immediately.

“Leia.” He tried to lay a hand on her arm again and she batted it away. 

“Don’t try and talk me out of this. Aled, are you going to ask me sit around and watch another member of my family die or…” She suddenly found that she couldn’t carry on as anger turned into pain. She took a breath desperate to argue her case and not be left behind again. Aled took both of her arms this time and made her look up at him. 

“That’s not what I was going to say.” He gestured to a chair. “Sit.” 

She felt tears spring up behind her eyes and blinked rapidly so they wouldn’t spill onto her face. He pushed her gently towards the chair. She sat. 

“You are too important. I can’t just let you run off and get yourself killed.” He stepped closer to her again and waved away what she was about to say. “But you know I understand how hard this has been for you.”

“No. Don’t tell me to stay here again. I can’t take it this time. Not again.” She found that tears were on her cheek now. When had she become so weak? Was it age that meant she couldn’t mask her feelings as well as in the past?

Aled knelt in front of her chair. “I’ve sent a message to Ackbar to come and temporarily take over the running of the base.” 

Leia looked at Aled in surprise as his slightly weatherworn but kind face took on an expression that she had never seen before. 

“I’m going to come with you and make sure you don’t do anything stupid.” He raised an eyebrow. “Looks like I’m no good at being left behind either.” 

All words were driven from Leia’s mind as she looked at Aled and realised that she was not alone. She had a friend. She had not hugged another living soul since Han left her to blow up Star Killer base and so it was strange to find that she had put her arms around another humans body. Aled returned her embrace with strength and Leia found that she needed it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you have read this far thank you! This is my first fan fiction so I know it is far from perfect. Any feedback I get would be welcome. Positive or negative


	4. Chapter 4

The resounding boom and cold of water hit Rey hard. She went under a long way and felt her right leg catch a rock that had been at the cliff base. She was confused for a moment but her instincts took over and she pushed for the surface, broke through and took a painful lung of air. She still had her lightsaber clutched in a death grip so she attached it to her belt with some difficulty, the cold water making her fingers clumsy and numb. The salt stung her eyes but she looked up to see if she was being watched. She saw nothing.

Her leg started to hurt. She was injured and if she was going to get away she needed to move fast. She spun in the water trying position herself. She took a large lungful of air and dived beneath the water swimming to the sea bed at the base of the cliff. In the murk she could see the large hidden entrance to the cave. She strove towards it praying that there was enough breath in her lungs to get her where she needed to go. The leg that had scraped the rock after her jump was not working as well as the left but she tried not to think of how badly she had hurt herself. There would be time for that later.

In her focus to get to the cave and the ship, she was unaware of a body hitting the water some way behind her. Kylo had stopped long enough to remove his helmet and most of his clothing, attached his lightsaber to his belt, and then taken a graceful dive into the water. He didn’t need to see her to follow her and took powerful strokes in her wake.

Rey was starting to panic when she finally broke the surface in the dark cave. Relief was sudden and very sweet and gave her the energy to drag herself onto the gritty beach. She gasped in air for a few moments before the urgency of her situation prompted her to try and get to her feet. Her right leg gave way and she fell again with a cry of pain. Her injury was worse than she had thought. She had to go on though. She got up again but favoured her left leg and half hopped and stumbled towards the dark shape some meters in front of her. She managed to get to the entrance and saw the illumination of the few lights on the door panel. The door was closed. That meant that Luke probably wasn’t inside the small ship. 

Rey looked towards the other entrance to the cave. A small patch of light some way above her and wondered if she should go in or go back for him. She was injured and would be more of a hindrance than help, but it went against every fibre of her being to leave anybody behind. She knew that treachery very intimately. The panic of indecision had Rey shaking even harder but in the end she realised that there was no choice. She could feel warm blood slipping down her leg. She either went, died or was captured. Her only choices were bad choices so she put her shaking fingers to the door panel and was about to put in the code when she heard a sound behind her and spun.

There was a large figure standing very close. It wasn’t Luke. How had she not felt him again. He was obviously very good at hiding his force signature when he wanted. Rey reached for her lightsaber but he was on her before she could release it. He took both of her wrists painfully in his hands and pushed her against the door with his body. His skin was hot through her thin coverings. She was terrified and trapped and turned her head so that her cheek was against his chest. She could hear the fast and heavy beat of his heart and smelled the faint mixture of sweat, and some sort of scent he must wear. The thought of him putting on scent before a battle side tracked her for a moment. 

Kylo shifted his body slightly so that he could move both her hands above her head and then used one large hand to grip them.

"Got you.” He whispered gruffly. “I like this cave a lot less than the last one.” His voice was slightly louder and echoed through the empty space. Rey felt dizzy and she wasn’t sure if it was from being so close to him or from loss of blood or both. 

“Now you must stop running.” His voice was even. “I have you and I’m not going to let you go.” He sucked in a breath and moved away from her very slightly. “I’ll make you a deal. Luke is still fighting off my force. He’s hurt but I think he will make it. If you come with me I’ll let him go. I’ll leave him alive.” He dipped his head down so she could feel his breath at her ear. “The alternative is that I take you by force and I kill him.” Rey grit her teeth and turned her face towards his.

“I hate you.”

“That’s irrelevant.” His voice was low but urgent. “Make your choice.” His body pressed into her again and she sucked in a breath, blood beating in her temple, making rational thought difficult. A spike of rage made her turn her face back to his naked flesh and bite him hard. His body jolted in response but his grip on her never wavered. She could feel the beat of his heart increase.

“Stop, or I will bite you back.” His voice was strained and he ground her wrists together painfully. “Do you want me to?” It was both a threat and a question but Rey stopped aware of the tang of his blood on her tongue.

“I don’t trust you.” She ground out and tried to kick at him with her good leg. She didn’t have enough room to do anything painful. “I think you will kill him anyway.” 

He sighed heavily and there was a pause. “Alright. See the truth. My barriers are down. Look for yourself.” He wasn’t moving away from her and the whole idea of entering his head at this moment while they were so physically close felt very alarming. Although she didn’t think she had a lot of options. She really would save Luke at the expense of herself if Kylo was being honest. 

Rey shut her eyes and tried to reconnect with the feeling she had had when she had pushed into his head before, but she found it difficult to recapture what she had done. She had been full of anger and determination and to some extent had followed the path that he had already made when he had interrogated her. Now she was in pain and frightened and didn’t seem to have any focus at all. She gave a small cry of frustration and wriggled in his grip.

“I can’t do it.” She sniffed holding back tears. She would not cry in front of him.

“Fine. I’ll show you.” His voice became even and the push of his force signature seemed to change in consistency. Warming and enveloping her so that everything around them started to feel very far away. “Let go. Just let yourself come to me.” Rey arched slightly at the changes that were happening. This was nothing like before. Before he had invaded her and rifled through her thoughts at will. This felt a bit like melting into him and it wasn’t painful. She started to panic as she had a sensation of falling. “Just relax.” She could hardly hear his words above the sound of the waves lapping in the cave but she also heard his words in her mind and the fuller meaning of his intent behind them because all at once she was in his world. His wishes and desires becoming hers. For a dizzying time she couldn’t separate herself out from him. 

It may have been mere moments or it might have been hours in which she tasted the exultant pleasure of having captured the one thing she wanted more than anything else. Having it there, holding it. The chase had been exciting and sometimes frustrating but now she had the means to gain everything that she had always wanted. She had been living in pain and darkness for as long as she could remember only wanting to destroy those that had destroyed her but now things could change. The girl had enough raw unbridled power… and then at that thought she realised she was Rey and she was back in herself. 

She wasn’t sure if she had cried out or him but she was aware that Kylo was shaking against her and that he had also found the experience surprising and was not as assured as he had been moments before.

“I’m telling the truth.” His voice was ragged.

“Yes.” She nodded into his chest. “You can let go now. I’ll come with you.” She felt him take a large breath and seem to deflate slightly. He stepped away and she immediately felt the chill that he had been keeping at bay. She also turned away. They both needed a few moments to gather their identities to them, to start to build some separation otherwise she wasn’t sure either of them could move forward. Even so she wasn’t certain that they would be unchanged by the experience. She could still taste the sensation of being unified, that other being, one that was a potential, but would result in the end of them as individuals. She felt sick.

She leant her head back against the door and shut her eyes only focussing on the lapping of water and the sound of the wind blowing above them at the cave mouth. She opened herself up to the force and submitted to its direction.

“Kylo?” He turned to face her in the grey. “Call off your dogs.” She felt rather than saw him wince at the hardness in her voice. He stared at her for a few moments.

“They can’t leave here.” She understood it as soon as he said it. The bargain would be made in the blood of every one of the fighters that were still alive on the island. There would be no witnesses. 

Kylo watched quietly as she absorbed the truth. She put her head to one side looking back at him. He couldn’t see her expression but her breathing had calmed.

“So be it.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I think the lesson here is to be careful what you wish for Kylo dearest.


	5. Chapter 5

The Eclipse came out of hyperspace with an accompanying squadron of Y-Wings. Leia could already see that the space battle was in full swing. Ships swirled in patterns like agitated wasps with the occasional bloom of an explosion. The first squadron had been made up of X-Wings to do some close fighting. She was hoping that the Y-Wings could now come in and clean up the mess. She hadn’t been in the heat of battle for a few years now and she realised that some part of her had missed it. She looked across at Aled who was gripping the arm rests of his seat with intensity although he looked thoughtful.

“Full shields Lornan and start prepping the laser canons. I don’t want to engage ourselves but I expect a few of them will take pot shots at us.” She then smiled. “If I’m not very much mistaken I don’t think they were expecting us. Just a small exploratory force.” Her face became more thoughtful. “Although we don’t know whats going on planet side.” 

Aled looked at her with some sympathy. “What do your instincts tell you Leia? I’d take your hunches over a technical report any day.” 

Leia looked at him gratefully and then closed her eyes to direct her attention towards the planet. She took a deep shaky breath. “There is a lot of death down there but Luke and Rey are alive.” She paused “My son too.” She frowned as an odd sensation had her shaking in her seat. The balance in the force was shifting in an alarming way but she couldn’t understand why as they appeared to be winning. “There is something else…” She shook her head. She must appear like some foolish old woman casting the bones to these young soldiers around her. She leant towards Aled. “This is not all going to go our way.”

Aled reached out and squeezed her hand briefly. “It never does but we keep going anyway.”

The space battle was brief but intense and in what seemed like no time at all they were descending through the atmosphere towards the small island. From a distance everything seemed peaceful and beautiful as the sun came out from behind the clouds and bathed everything in a warm light. The small waves were capped with white and birds wheeled round the cliffs. 

As they came closer, the evidence of a land battle hard fought, became clear. There were the white bodies of storm troopers everywhere on a small shingle cove that their ship settled near. Leia left the ship and immediately ascended the stairs. Aled and a few fighters went to follow her but she waved them away. 

“I’ll let you know if I need you.” Aled looked decidedly unimpressed.

“You can order them about but not me. I’m coming with you.” Leia looked at him for a long moment and then gave a small nod. They started up the rocky steps of the grassy cliffside. There were bodies all the way. Breathing heavily they finally came to Luke’s hut. Leia stopped. She wasn’t sure she was ready for what she would find. She turned to Aled.

“Please don’t start anything.” He looked at her questioningly. “Please.” With that Leia entered the hut with Aled on her heals. It was dim inside and it took a moment for her brain to process what she was seeing. Rey sat by a low wooden table and was looking at them. She could feel that Luke was laid out on a low pallet although he was largely obscured by a figure - her son. She had known all the way up the steps that he was still here but it shocked her to the core to actually see him. He was naked from the waist up and his broad back had the odd beauty mark that she had memorised when he was a child. She felt his force signature in the room – a muddled chaotic thing. 

Leia paused and found that all thought had stopped, her voice would not work. She had hoped for this moment for more than 15 years and now it had come she was rooted to the spot with a mixture of fear and hope.

Rey stood and came forward obviously aware of the older woman’s turmoil. She took her shaking hand. Leia noticed how cold Rey was and the fact that she was wet. This cleared her thoughts slightly. Her son had not turned and Rey was the first to speak.

“Master Luke has been hurt and I have asked…” and then she paused, little wrinkles forming on her forehead. “I asked Kylo to stabilise him. I cant heal yet.” She squeezed Leia’s hand and she felt the warning in it. “After that I am leaving with Kylo and you can take Master Luke back with you.” Rey’s eyes pleaded with her. Leia was still trying to process what Rey was saying and trying not to just stare at her son when Aled stepped in.

“All the First Order ships are destroyed. He is the only one left. He has no way of forcing you to go.” There was a a long moment of silence as the tension levels rose.

At this point Ben stood and faced the room. He was huge and the roof almost touched his head. How had she produced him? He had been quite a small baby. She had to control the absurd urge to giggle. Although the alternative was she might cry and that was probably worse.

"I can kill everyone here easily so I suggest you don’t try my patience.” His voice shook her to the bottom of her soul. So cold. So distant. Was this what Han had faced in his last moments. Her legs started to give out as she stifled a sob. Rey caught her and helped her into a chair.

“Even if you kill every one of us you will have to face two squadrons of fighters once your airborne. I don’t like your chances.” Aled bravely stood his ground.

Rey stepped between the two men “Could I talk to Leia alone a moment.” It wasn’t a request and Ben was the first to move quickly out of the hut. This surprised Leia on a number of levels but she kept her face blank. Aled looked at Leia for a moment but since the threat had left the room didn’t make an argument about letting the women talk.

When the two men had left Leia dragged herself over to where Luke was. His eyes were closed and his breathing was even but he had a grey pallor which was unlike him. She put her hand to his forehead and she thought that she saw, although she may imagined it, a small twitch of his mouth. Once she had reassured herself that her womb mate was going to be OK she turned back to Rey who was watching her warily.

Not one to ever mince her words she cut to the chase. “Why are you going with him?” 

Rey stood her ground her chin held high looking ready to fight a fight.

“He made a deal with me. Letting Luke go if I went with him willingly.” Leia looked at her steadily.

“Sounds more like blackmail to me.” She took step towards the girl. “Why are you really going?” 

There was a long silence and Leia became aware of the sounds of the gulls and the strong sea breeze over the heights of the island. What a peaceful place her brother had been living, hiding all these years. Leia couldn’t help the small amount of resentment that flared up in her. Why did she always have to carry the burden of leadership? Rey’s quiet voice brought her back to the room.

“Kylo and I have a link. A link through the force. I just know that we have to leave here together. I sense it.” Rey stepped up to Leia her voice becoming quiet but urgent. “Please let us go. Please.” 

Leia turned away from her. It was hard to think with her earnest face staring so intently. “I will be handing you to Snoke on a platter if I do this. I will be betraying the Resistance.” She clenched her fists.

“If you take him prisoner, which I don’t think you can, you will be signing his death warrant – do you want that?” Rey regretted her words almost as quickly as she had said them but there was no way to retract them.

“Of course I know. I have played through all the alternatives a thousand times and there is never a way he can come back that I can see.” She felt her voice starting to fail her. “They think that I am strong, they think that I see him as the enemy, that I would let them hurt him but the truth is I wouldn’t. He is my son, my only child and I will die to protect him.” 

She turned back to Rey and there was years of pain in her face. “I will let you go but I am doing you no favours at all. I am betraying you as well.” Leia let out a long breath and suddenly seemed older. “He will never understand the depth of my love for him. It is endless, nothing will ever touch it. Nothing.” There were tears falling now. “I wish I could hold him. Just once.” Leia raised her hand to her face and hid herself from Rey.

Rey hugged her own waist and bowed her head. “I’ll try and help him. I promise. I’ve seen the light in him.” Her words hung in the air and then Rey turned away and went to the door so that Leia could have her few moments grief.

 

Aled had been standing a few feet away from Leia’s son for some minutes when he found himself talking when the rational part of him knew he should keep his mouth shut. He always seemed to lose his head around her.

“You can hide behind a mask most of the time, you can threaten her, but I can see you couldn’t hurt her. Maybe everybody else but not her or Rey for that matter.” Aled found himself shaking as Kylo’s dark eyes focussed on him. His face showed little but he could see that there was some struggle going on in him. He looked like Han with the colouring and expressiveness of Leia.

"You can love my mother but she will always choose duty over you, always.” Aled felt like he had been kicked in the gut. To have secret feelings dragged out into the open by an unsympathetic brute like her son. For just a moment he wanted to run away from all of them. These broken complicated people who seemed to hold the destiny of the Galaxy in their hands, but he didn’t. He stood loyally. Silent now. 

Rey came out of the hut and approached Kylo. Aled watched with interest as she went close to the man and stretched up to say some words in his ear. She had placed one hand on his bare chest, unconscious of how intimate it looked. Then she lowered herself and stepped away from him and looked at Aled instead.

Aled had no time to react as Kylo quickly turned stretched out his hand towards him. He didn’t feel fear as the world suddenly grew dark and he fell to the soft grass.


	6. Chapter 6

Rey sat in silence watching Kilo pilot his craft. They had just come out of hyper space and were approaching the huge First Order ship the Finalizer. He was without his mask but had replaced some of the clothing that had been lost on and around the island. He looked stern in profile but Rey could feel some of the emotions beyond his physical appearance. He was pleased and afraid in equal measure. Pleased to have captured her she understood, the fear she chased to the corners of his mind careful not to disturb him. He was afraid of what might come next, what might happen to her. 

Rey rubbed at the goosebumps on her arms and moved her injured leg into a slightly more comfortable position. Kylo Ren’s ship was cool and the air was dry and clinical. The Millennium Falcon had had the air of the many years that Han had used it. Sometimes none too fragrant but it had felt homey maybe because of this. This craft felt alienating – all grey and black and hard.

The Finalizer grew until it took up the whole of the front view port. It wasn’t an elegant ship but it was impressive. Rey found her self grasping at the arms of her seat. There was probably no way out now and she started to wonder if she had made the right decision. The truth being that there really had been no decision to make. She knew that there was a path to follow and that is what she would do.

“Keep quiet when we land.” Rey looked sharply at Kylo again. “They will try and take you for questioning, which I’ll stop, but you need to be docile for this to work – understand?”

“Not really.”

“OK you don’t have to understand, just keep quiet.” 

Rey sighed and there was a pause. 

“And give me the light sabre.”

“No.” She was outraged.

"Yes. I give you my word you will get it back.” He ran a frustrated hand through his hair. “You are my prisoner – you have to look it.”

"Not your guest then?”

“If your preference is restraint – that can be arranged.” He sounded angry now but there was the edge of something else that she didn’t care to investigate.

"Alright." She sounded like a petulant child even to herself. 

Back on the island there had been a moment where she had felt that the balance of power had definitely moved in her favour but already that feeling was slipping through her fingers. He was powerful and impetuous and she mustn’t forget how dangerous he was.

She unclipped her weapon from her belt and held it out to the man next to her. He reached out and took it from her shaking fingers still looking out at the ship they were approaching. She had a moment of terror that left her adrift.

“You won’t let them kill me?” Her voice embarrassed her. 

He looked at her face immediately and he looked earnest.

“That will never happen.” 

Rey was taken aback by his vehemence. Then she saw a smile curl at the corner of his mouth. 

“I’m the only one who is allowed to kill you.” 

She found it hard to look away from him and she couldn’t smile because she thought he was being honest. She wrapped her arms around her still skinny body and prepared herself as much as she could for her captivity.

 

Walking through the hanger of the larger ship was terrifying. It was bright and clinical and hurt Rey’s eyes. The scale was massive and she wondered how the Resistance continually won out against what was always a bigger and superior force. 

She didn’t have much time to dwell on it as Kylo pulled her urgently forward his hand gripping her upper arm almost painfully. She was having trouble keeping up the pace while trying to save her injured leg. 

She could see a group of storm troopers coming towards them with an officer at the lead. Kylo strode up to them.

“Not such a long trip then?” The man did not sound pleased to see them.

“The resistance surprised us but I did return with the girl Snoke wanted.” 

There was a pause while the red headed man looked long and hard at Kylo and then looked at Rey.

“I hear that you lost every one of my men.”

“That was unfortunate.”

Kylo’s grip on Rey’s arm became tighter and she grimaced and looked at her feet. 

“Unfortunate is not the word I would use. Not at all. But we can talk about that later – I shall take the captive to the holding cells and we can start the interrogation.”

Rey tried not to react but she could feel the dread pooling in the pit of her stomach. 

“That’s not going to work. She is force strong and can use her abilities on the guards and the electronics of those cells. I will lock her in my quarters. I have equipped them for this eventuality.” 

Rey looked up at Kylo not having to feign her surprise. 

“Isn’t that lucky.” The sarcasm dripped from the officers voice. “You must oversee the fitting of some cells with the same enhancements. Then you won’t have to trouble yourself with these…” He glared at Rey. “terrorist scum.”

Rey didn’t know why this mans tone suddenly made her furious but before she even realised she was speaking. "Your hands are dripping with the blood millions and you insult me?” 

She had drawn herself up and was pulling forward. She wanted to strike the disdain from his pale face. Before she knew it Kylo had let go of her arm stepped in front of her and back handed her across the face. She fell hard to the floor her ears ringing. She looked up at the tall figure of Kylo.

“You must learn respect Scavenger.” 

It was a tone of voice that she had never heard him use with her. Rey looked away from him and didn’t try to rise as Kylo turned away from her. 

“I will secure her and then report to The Supreme Leader. Is there anything else you need Hux?” 

“No. I’ll give you a full report at the first shift.” 

He turned to go but then turned back. 

“And try not to be late.” 

He marched smartly off with the storm troopers in tow. Kylo watched them go for a few moments before he turned to her. He hauled her to her feet none to gently and then stalked forwards. Rey felt dizzy and her jaw ached. She was silent.

It took a while to reach his quarters. There were three long corridors and two turbo lifts on the way and if Rey had been asked to retrace her steps she wouldn’t have been able to. Finally they were entering a set of automatic doors at the end of a corridor that was dimly lit and seemed to have suffered some lightsaber damage in the past.

Once inside he finally let her go and she had a chance to look around. It was like the rest of the ship, grey, neat and lacking in personality. Still there was something of him about the place. 

She walked forwards and sank into a seat next to a glass topped table. She rested her throbbing cheek against the cool of the surface. Now that she had got to relative safety, although she was not at all sure of that, she found she wanted to sob. She took slow breaths to try and ease the tightening of her throat.

Kylo had crossed his main living area and gone through a door. She could hear him moving about and then he came back towards her holding a bundle of clothing that he placed in front of her. She didn’t move and closed her eyes to shut herself away from him although she could still feel him all around her.

"I had to hit you so I wont apologise.” 

He waited but she didn’t react. 

"Before I go I would like to take a look at your leg." 

He knelt in front of her and she raised her head. Earlier they had just had time to bind her injury but it was still painful.

"I could just use a bacta patch?" She sounded resentful.

"Let me look." 

He removed his gloves and then delicately raised her injured leg so that it was resting on his thigh. His hands on her ankle felt warm. He slowly undid the binding and she sucked in a breath as the cut started to sting. When he had removed all the bandaging she could see that her injury had started to bleed again. 

"I'm a little tired but I think I have it in me." 

He used one hand to hold the back of her calf and the other he held close to the long gash on her shin. Kylo shut his eyes.

Rey took the chance to really look at him. His long wavy hair was messy from the sea water, his face was a little odd, he had a spattering of moles and his lips were a bit too generous but she couldn't deny that she liked looking him. His face didn't fit with the First Order Enforcer he was at all. He looked sensitive, earnest and kind, even with the scar she had given him. She wished she could take it back now.

"Can you stop thinking - your distracting me." 

He was looking at her and there was the smallest hint of a smile playing at the corner of his lips. “Why don't you pay attention to what I’m doing - you might learn something." 

With that he closed his eyes again.

So Rey closed her eyes and slowly stretched out her awareness to Kylo's. She seemed to slip in easy this time and didn't have all the confusion of identity. Perhaps the more they did this the better they would get at it. Rey focused in on what Kylo was doing and was surprised at how good it made him feel to fix her. He was content and totally absorbed. Then she became aware of the heat in her leg from the power he was pouring into her. 

She took a deep steadying breath and gripped the edge of her chair. She had not expected this to feel as pleasurable as it did. She thought she heard his breath catch at the same moment she gave a quiet gasp.

"Sorry." She was panting. 

She looked at him again.

"It's OK. Relax into it."

His mouth was quivering and his eyes were still shut. Rey realized she was holding back so she breathed out slowly and opened herself up to him. Then the power seemed to start flowing through her and then back to him in a overwhelming cycle and she couldn't stop herself arching in her seat from heat that spread through every inch of her. The sensation was exquisite and she couldn’t help the breathy moan that escaped her.

This seemed to break Kylo of his focus and he pulled away. Rey opened her eyes and took in his expression.

"Your scar is gone." She sounded unbelieving. 

Rey reached up but didn't quite touch the centre of his face and he pulled further away. She waited for him to say something but he just looked deeply troubled.

“Does it always feel like that? Did it feel like that with Luke?"

"No." 

He seemed irritated all of sudden. He stood and turned away. 

“I am going to report to The Supreme Leader. It may take time. You may use any of the facilities.” 

His force signature had cut off from her completely and he sounded cool and disinterested.

“I wasn’t lying before. I have had my quarters adapted so a force user can not overcome the locks.”

He went towards the door.

“Get some sleep.” 

With that he was gone and weariness seemed to be immediately overwhelming. Had he put suggestion behind his voice? Bastard.

However tired she might be she didn’t want to sleep with the dirt and salt of the last few days still sticking to her skin. She rose, picked up the clothing he had given her and headed towards the door that she assumed was the sleeping chamber. Inside was a large bed covered in dark grey silky sheets. The bed was rumpled and unmade. She turned away from that and found a door to the fresher. It was generous in size and seemed to have everything that she might want. More than she had been used to in the last year.

She stripped and kicked the dirty clothes to a corner. There was no other obvious place to put them and she took some perverse pleasure in messing up Kylo’s quarters. 

She looked for a cupboard in the ridged walls and pressed in on a likely panel. It opened smoothly. It was full of the usual articles one found in a men’s fresher. She took some body and hair wash.

The heat of the water made her hiss in pleasure. She stood there for a long time before she got round to actually cleaning herself and when that was over she was still reluctant to stop. She was uninjured now. No mark. In fact she couldn’t see any scars anywhere on her body. She wasn’t sure if that scared her. She stepped away from the water and it stopped.

Once dried and in the sleep ware that Kylo had given her she headed back to the bedroom. She looked at the bed for a long time. It was so very inviting and all she wanted was to bury herself within the bed clothes but she instead took some bedding from it and returned to the main room where she lay down on a long black couch. It was more comfortable than her bed on Ahch-To. 

From where she lay on the couch she could see a view port that took up a floor to ceiling part of Kylo’s outer wall. Studying the shapes the stars made helped to calm her and her eyes became very heavy. She reached out for Kylo but couldn’t sense him. When she felt the edge of something dark and dead, like the sucking nightmare of a black hole she pulled back as if she had been bitten. Snoke then. She felt nauseous from the experience. 

She turned over and faced the back of the couch and thought about the sound of the ocean crashing at the rocks on the island that she had left. How she could taste the ocean when she used to leave her hut and straighten the kinks out of her back in the morning breeze. The storms that she watched coming across the sea. Flashes that illuminated huge black clouds and shook the ground seconds later. In this way sleep took her.

 

It was some time in the early hours when Kylo returned. As soon as the door opened she woke but didn’t move. He walked quietly by her and towards his bedroom. She couldn’t feel his force signature and that worried her. When he had disappeared into his room she sat up and listened. There was nothing.

She stood and went to the open door and looked inside. Kylo was sat on his bed with his head in his hands. She thought about going nearer but she was afraid.

“What happened?” 

He looked up slowly and it appeared as if he had wept blood. She didn’t move. 

“No worse than I expected.” His voice was empty. “He wants to see you, assess you. We have two weeks for me to work on you. Get you ready.” 

Rey turned and went to his fresher returning with wipes. She came closer to him and when she was directly in front of him lifted his face with the tip of her finger. He didn’t resist. She took a wipe and carefully cleaned the blood from under his eyes. 

“Can you see?” She asked quietly.

“Not clearly at the moment but I will be well by morning.” 

Rey was standing in between Kylo’s thighs and she could feel the heat of him even though she wasn’t touching him. She felt lightheaded. He reached up and took her hand stilling it.

“I’m going to wash so you don’t need to do that.” 

His other hand took hold of her hip slightly harder than necessary and she felt a prickling sensation spread out over her skin from the contact. He gently pushed her away from him as he stood but as he let go, his grip turned into a caress. 

“I am feeling it too”. His voice was husky. “I’m not going to let us do this just because the force wants it. This is not all your need or mine.”

He wasn’t touching her now and she tried to think clearly. He hadn’t moved away and she felt as if there was something pulling her towards him. She wanted to touch him, taste his skin, bite him and other things she didn’t understand well.

“This is so hard.” He took a breath. “You…” 

And then he slid past her quickly. 

“Go to sleep.” 

He was in his fresher before she could say anything. She looked at the door that he had closed behind him. She clenched her hands until the nails bit into her palms painfully.

After she heard the spray of water start Rey went to the couch in the main room but she was restless and found it difficult to settle for some time.


	7. Chapter 7

The sky was an endless pale blue stretching to the edge of the mountains all around Leia. The air was cool and breathing in was like quenching a thirst in the desert. It seemed to diminish some of the pain she was feeling. Leia was sat on a hillside meadow away from the base looking at the little flowers in the closely cropped grass. Her knees were drawn up to her body and her head was resting on them. This place was her escape.

She sighed heavily and resisted the urge to cry. She was too tired to cry again. Nothing was going smoothly. Luke was proving curiously passive and not willing help her make any decisions. He meditated for hours every day but then had very little to show for the mental effort. Leia was trying to be patient but she couldn’t wait forever. Things needed to change. 

Leia was also trying to hide her anger and resentment from him and it was exhausting her. She knew how to block her thoughts from her brother. She had learnt that skill at the very least, when she had learnt of the legacy that had become hers as a Skywalker. Still it was not something she was used to doing continually and it made her weary and irritable with the other people around her. 

Also there was Aled. He had not sought her out since their return from Ahch-To and she had been too much a coward to seek him out. In fact she was avoiding him. There was only so much one person could take and his disappointment on top of all the other pains would probably take her over the edge. But she missed him and when she thought that she may have ruined their friendship forever a small shard of panic ate into her chest just below her heart. 

She felt a tear on her cheek. It looked like she couldn’t avoid the emotions today. Perhaps it was better to indulge them here away from the base where no one could see her except for the eagles soaring high above her. They didn’t care for her human suffering.

So her thoughts turned once again to her son. She had stopped thinking of him as Ben since she had seen him on Ahch-To. He was a man now and had changed. She would accept that he wasn’t the boy that had been taken from her, that she had let be taken from her. 

She had not been horrified by him. She had not been scared of him. She had just realised that her love for him could not be diminished by anything that he could do. That had been one thing that she had taken comfort in. That essentially no one could change her feelings for her son.

He had been handsome and impressive. His voice had been low, smooth and beautiful. She had felt pride in him, his body and his strength. The awful choices that he had made slipped away from her as she couldn’t help but be fascinated by everything about him. It surprised her to realise that if he had turned to her and asked her to come with him she would have done it. She would follow him into darkness willingly. But he hadn’t asked. He had hardly looked at her at all. He had tried to hide his feelings from her but a mother doesn’t need the force to read her child. He had been deeply ashamed. He was not so lost to the light as he wished to persuade those around him. She could see it and Rey saw it.

Thoughts of him strengthened her resolve once again. She now knew the path she hoped to follow. She would follow. Whether others would aid her she was about to find out. Leia looked out at the beauty of the world once again and it comforted her that these places existed. Despite the wars and the destruction and the evil that was growing, there would always be beauty and peace. Darkness would never prevail over everything. Life was the force and the force was life and it would continue. Seeing Kylo Ren, her son, had shown her that her duty was to rescue the child that she had brought into the world. She did not fear death or pain she only feared that he would always live in the darkness that Snoke had dragged him into when he was little. She would find him and she would release him. 

 

Back at the base Leia sort out her brother. She brought him tea and food in his quarters. He looked at her with warmth as she arrived.

"Food delivery from a General” He took the tray from her. “You were always so self sufficient.”

She cocked an eyebrow. “I have hands and am not totally decrepit….yet.” She sat heavily on his bed while he took a chair that sat opposite it, putting the tray on a side table. 

Luke handed Leia the tea and she took a sip while appreciating the afternoon sun that fell on his bed and warmed her. She could see motes of dust endlessly spinning in the rays of light. She was at an age where an afternoon nap was very inviting but as a General never seemed to be allowed to sneak away.

Luke was watching her steadily his face unreadable but calm. “You have made a decision.” It wasn’t a question.

“Yes.” Her voice was soft but strong. “I am going to get my son back.” 

There was silence for some minutes and neither sibling felt the need to break it but instead listened to the sounds of the base all around them. Luke picked up his tea and took a sip of the hot liquid. Then he put it back on the tray. He sat back in his chair.

Leia stood and crossed to the tray and picked up one of the pastry’s that she had brought and then moved back to the bed. “You should try one – they are the best things that this base produces.” She took a bite and swallowed as Luke did as she directed. He waited with the food in his hand. 

“Will you help me?” She was looking at him intently now.

Luke looked right back at her steadily. “Yes. I have only been waiting for you to ask.”

“How long have you been waiting for that?”

Luke looked at the ground now. “Since he was taken.” His voice was sad and very weary. “I love him too Leia but this choice had to be yours. I had to wait for you.” He put the pastry down without having taken a bite. “This path could end us.”

Leia had looked away again and was breathing deeply. “I know it.” She looked back it him. “But it is the right choice, isn’t it? Whatever they think.” She waved her hand at the rest of the base outside.

“The truth is in your heart.” Luke reached a hand towards his sister and she came forwards and took it, ending up on her knees in front of him. “I think I have been wrong to turn away from my feelings. I think the order was always wrong to deny love and connection. It is part of being human and I think it was an impossible hurdle for some and hastened their path to the dark side.” His grip on her hand was warm and soft. “But for Ben that wasn’t the problem.”

“He is Kylo now.” Her voice shook only slightly “That boy is gone.”

Luke frowned slightly. “As you say.” He paused. “Kylo was targeted. He was twisted when he was too young and we were not quick enough to save him. He was lost before he even came to me.” Pain filled Luke’s face. “But he is both light and dark and continues to be so. He still can make a the choice to turn away from Snoke. It is not too late.”

Leia was crying now but managed to talk around the tightening of her throat. “Luke…” she was trying to tell him how thankful she was that he was finally here with her but she couldn’t manage any more and found herself crying into his knees.

“Leia, there is hope. There is hope.” He stroked the top of her greying hair. 

Leia managed to slow her sobs until there was only the odd tremor through her body and her breathing had become more even. She didn’t move her head from his knees. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had truly lost her composure in front of someone. It was right. Luke was her home now. 

“It will be a hard sell to the resistance.” A little of her wiry humour had come back into her voice. “It’s only because Aled kept his mouth shut that I have’t been asked to step down.” She moved back from him and slowly got to her feet. “I’m getting a bit old for kneeling in front of you Luke.”

He smiled. “You have to keep moving Leia.” His face became more serious. “See where you get. This will not be achieved by might of force anyway.”

"When has it ever? Seat of our pants and hope for the best.” She grinned.

“I like to think of it as trusting in the Force.” He was smiling back.

“You do don’t you.” 

As he stood from his chair she walked into his open arms and they hugged for a long time.

 

The few days following her talk with Luke had left feeling lighter than she had in years. There was much wrong in the Galaxy but now her path forward was clear to her. She had a target to fight towards and at heart she was a bit of a scrapper. She was enlivened and motivated. However an hour into her meeting with the leadership of the Resistance had her wanting to gnaw her own arm off in frustration. Everything was always so slow. She kept her breathing steady. If she lost her temper now she would probably lose everything.

Aled was sat on the opposite side of the long metal table but she had not caught his eye. She had been avoiding it. She was being a coward with him which was very uncharacteristic.

There was a lull in the debate and Leia weighed in once again. “I too do not want to risk what we have built up which is why I am saying I only want a handful of ships and a few trusted individuals for this. And then just move the bases and I will go dark.” 

A number of people tried to speak but it was Admiral Akbar that cut through the competing voices. “General, you are our leader. Your insight created us. You and your brother, who has finally been found, inspire the swelling in our ranks. Powerful families who survived the Hosnian System are starting to support us.” He paused and there was silence. “I say, where you go I follow.”

The chorus of responses was deafening but Leia managed to dip her head to Ackbar in thanks for his support. A new voice spoke out strongly. It was a young General that had reached her rank through pure good leadership and fighting prowess.

“I respect General Organa and everything she has done for the Resistance both times round but she is compromised on this issue. Although Aled remains quiet on this…” The young woman turned accusatory eyes to Aled and then carried on. “Some of the troops have told me that General Organa let her son escape with Rey.” There were a few intakes of breath and then a heavy silence. They all had there suspicions about what had happened on Ahch-To but had been consciously avoiding calling her out on it. “We can’t let her pull the whole Resistance into a personal crusade to save her son. We have a responsibility to all our other sons, and daughters.” She had the grace to look sad as she looked at Leia. “I have children too and I would probably do what Leia is doing if I were her – but that is why I know this is a dangerous idea.” She stopped and sat looking a bit grey after her speech.

“Did you let Kylo Ren Escape?” General Ackbar’s voice was gentle but firm and in the silence that followed it Leia tried to calm her racing heart.

This was it. The truth would mean the end of her leadership of the Resistance. Would some of them look at her the way the senate had after they had found out her parentage? She took a breath. She may be Darth Vader’s daughter but she was an Organa too.

Before she could speak Aled Aledena started to speak. “General Organa did not let her son go. He threatened to kill me unless she ordered the resistance blockade to let his ship through. She chose to save my life.” He spoke the lie clearly. “Some may think that she made the wrong choice but it I am glad that I am here none the less.” 

Leia was stunned and openly stared at Aled until he shook his head ever so slightly and she realised that she must look away. So she looked at Ackbar instead and she was sure she saw him wink at her. Leia gripped the table to stop herself from grinning. 

As the rest of the meeting carried on Leia thought she might hit Aled when she got him alone. Actually perhaps she wouldn’t hit him. She looked over at him from under her lashes and the look he gave her made her catch her breath. She felt her cheeks warm. She looked away again confused. He was ten years younger than her but she wasn’t so old that she didn’t recognise that look.

“Leia!”

She jumped as her attention came back to the matter at hand. It was Ackbar again.

“Are you going to raise your hand and support your own motion?” 

She realised that just over half the room was indeed voting to put the might of the Resistance behind Leia’s plan to rescue her son and Rey. With a smile, and tears in her eyes Leia raised her hand.


	8. Chapter 8

Rey couldn't sleep so she decided to meditate instead. She approached the viewing window of Kylo's quarters and sank into a crossed legged pose. For a few moments she looked out at the massive expanse of stars and then she closed her eyes and started focusing on her breath. Her mind skipped almost immediately to the last few days on the Finalizer and the increasing tension between her and her keeper. It appeared that Kylo had spent so much time obsessing on her capture that he had given little thought to what he would do with her once she was on the ship. So she had been stuck in his quarters and then occasionally led to a training room where Kylo would put her through her paces.

These were the times that Rey enjoyed best. They fought with staffs or blunt swords and so neither of them held back. Fighting was probably the most honest interaction they could have. Everything else was stilted, subdued and didn't feel natural.

After the first evening they had both consciously avoided physical contact if they could help it and now Kylo had finally arranged for quarters for her directly adjacent to his own. She would move into them the next day cycle. She wanted her own space desperately. Although of course he could walk in any time he wanted. She was most definitely his prisoner. At least on the most obvious level. However it continually felt as if they were playing a game. They had secrets that no one else were privy to, they could read each other, they could hear each other's thoughts. They knew what the other wanted. So she found herself acting the subdued prisoner when others were around because she knew that’s what he wanted. Then when they were alone his tone changed and the dynamic was different.

The peace of meditation was proving as elusive as sleep had. Rey sighed and lay down on the soft carpet. The window to the universe came down to the floor and she felt as if she might fall into it if she rolled over. She smiled to herself and ran her hands down her torso skimming the edges of her breasts. She had put on a bit of weight and she was surprised by the subtle changes in her body. With extra calories she found that she had time for appetites other then purely nutritional. Her right hand skimmed over her front and played with waistband of her sleep trousers. Her other hand softly traced over the raise of her left nipple. She circled it a few times and felt it tighten along with other things in her body.

Without really being aware of it her thoughts turned to the man she was sharing her space with. She thought of his height and girth. The strength that she had felt in his arms when they had fought. Once or twice he had disarmed her and proceeded to lift her bodily and push her to the training room walls. He had been hot with exertion and his breathing ragged as he held her there with his body for slightly longer than necessary.

Her fingers slowly moved under the waistband of her sleep trousers and she took a deep breath. She was very aroused already and had not done very much of anything.

She wasn't sure what had drawn her attention away from the stars. Perhaps his breath or perhaps a stray thought that had escaped the barriers that he had thrown up. Rey turned her face towards the door to his bedroom and regarded her captor. He was very still and was staring at her intently in the dim light. He gripped onto the door frame with one hand and she could see that there was some tension in it.

Rey's hand had stopped but the siren song of her body called out to her, and Kylo's presence increased the pressure of want, so instead of stopping she reached further and found that that she had become extremely wet. Her body arched ever so slightly and she closed her eyes wondering what he felt watching her. She couldn't feel anything from him so she started to move her middle finger ever so slowly around her core. It was only just beginning but she couldn’t remember feeling this much desire before. She stretched her torso up and squeezed at her breast a little harder for his benefit. She felt like a hunter and he was her prey.

She heard the padding of his feet as he came closer and then she could feel all the little hairs on her body rise. She opened her eyes and found him crouched next to her. His eyes were dark and endless and were focussed on her face.

"Do you really want me?" His voice was low. "You don't like me."

Rey stopped her fingers and tried to subdue the annoyance she felt at him.

"I just want." She looked at him and then her eyes roamed to his mouth and then onto the rest of him. "I don't like you but you are here." She pressed down firmly and liquid heat spread out from her groin and she took a heavy breath as her parted legs shook slightly. "We don't have to like each other."

She watched as he looked away from her for a moment but perhaps he didn't realize that he was unconsciously bending towards her like a plant growing towards the light. He was shaking and she found it pleasurable watching him battle with his need.

"Have you been with a man before?" He was still looking away from her and his voice was hardly above a whisper.

She loved his voice she decided. She hadn't stopped moving her hand in slow circles. She was avoiding her most sensitive spot as she didn't want to rush this at all.

"No." Her voice was breathy and slow. "Would you like to break me in?" She was staring at him so she noticed the shudder that took his whole body.

He took a steadying breath. "You can see that I do." He managed to sound mostly calm. "But I'm not supposed to do this."

"Why?" She had stopped touching herself and removed her hand from her trousers raising her torso and facing Kylo slightly. "Did Snoke say we couldn't fuck?”

Kylo shook his head slightly. "The training - I may have to hurt you later and this would complicate it."

She looked up at him for some moments frowning slightly. "Fine, walk away - go back to your room. I don't need you." She lay her head back down on the ground. She went to move her hand towards her waistband again. "You didn't hold back in the dream."

His hand caught her wrist. It was very large and gripped her painfully. He pushed it to the side of her body and moved his own body over hers. She took a long shuddering breath.

"I didn't plan that but it was the best way to find your location." He had lowered his head so she felt his hot breath above a nipple. She raised her chest up towards his mouth and he sucked through the material of her sleep top.

Her head spun and the almost pain in her cunt became overwhelming. Kylo was knelt in between her open thighs now. He took his mouth away from her and then pushed her sleep top up and then looked at her for a few moments.

"You think I'm a monster?"

She didn't know why his question spun her higher. "Yes." She tried to swallow past the lust. "I hate what you have done. I hate what you do."

"But you want me to stretch you open with my cock?” 

There was a pause as she tried to gather her ragged thoughts. "Yes." Her answer was needy. Her legs moved round his torso and she tried to pull him down but he resisted.

"Have you wanted anybody else like you want me?" His grip on her wrist was firmer than before and he leant further over her so that his face was above hers. "Would somebody else do? There are a lot of men on this ship." His voice was harder now.

He took hold of her other hand and held it above her head. He slowly lowered his body to hers and she felt the hardness of him at her core. He was very large. He slowly ground into her and she couldn't stop herself pushing back at him with need.

"Answer me."

She tried to think but was finding it very difficult. The truth was that she hadn't wanted anybody else like she wanted him. She had hardly thought about anything but survival before she had met him. The only other man she really knew was Fin, who was lovely, but she hadn't thought of him in that way. And obviously Luke was her Master. Kylo was the one that brought this out in her.

"You know the answer to that." She was trapped under him now but she didn't want him gone.

"I do, but I want you to accept it too." His open face was full of a need that was not entirely lust.

She looked straight into his eyes. "I want you more than any man I ever met. I only want you." There was something freeing about finally admitting it. Giving it to him.

He gave a little start and his generous mouth shook ever so slightly. "You wanted me from the first moment you saw me in the interrogation room." He took a breath. "I saw it. I saw your body respond to me. You didn't want to but you couldn't help it. And then I had to chase you half way round the Galaxy. It took so long." His voice was a gravelly whisper. "I'm going to make you scream."

Rey swallowed and took a breath. "What about when you have to train me later - have to hurt me?"

Kylo started moving down her body. "I will have to kiss it better." He started to pepper little kisses on her body as he moved down. "I can't fuck you tonight. I take it you don't want to start a family just yet?" She caught a look from him that was unexpectedly complicated and she found her internal thoughts were just as confusing.

He sat back from her and pulled her sleepwear off. "Spread yourself wide for me." He pushed her knees further apart and settled his head down between her thighs. He started taking long lazy licks at her and she was almost immediately spun out so far she couldn't keep her body in place. His hands clamped round her hips and kept in still. He moved back slightly. "There is no getting away from me little one." He plunged back and started licking her faster and in no time at all she was exploding so hard she couldn't stop herself from crying out and raising her body high into an arch of extreme pleasure. She came back down in small shudders. Finally after a while she looked at Kylo who had rested his cheek on her stomach.

"What about you?"

He looked at her with a slightly shamed half smile. "I rode yours. I felt everything you did, I couldn't hold back. A droid will clear up in the morning." He turned away from her and stood and at the same time pushed his sleep trousers from his hips and they fell to the floor. He stepped out of them and Rey took in his naked form. He was magnificent. He walked towards his bedroom.

"Come to bed." It wasn't quite an order but it wasn't a question either.

Rey sat up and removed the sleep top that was sitting above her breasts. Then she looked out at the stars. She closed her eyes and brought her hand to her face and felt her heated cheeks. She wasn't turning out to be a very good Jedi. She looked towards the door that Kylo had gone through. She hadn't got him out of her system. Not at all.


	9. Chapter 9

When Rey woke she was alone. She turned over in Kylo’s expansive bed and looked at where he had pushed back the covers. There was no sound of him in the fresher and she had no sense of him in the living room. He was gone. Rey felt disturbed by his absence. After last night she had expected to have him close, to explore what their actions might mean together, gently. It hurt a little bit that he had just left her. 

Rey sat up and frowned at the space she was existing in. Why had she really expected anything different? The man was a twisted killer. He was unpredictable, violent, angry and she had let him into her mind and was hungry to let him into her body. It didn’t make sense to her. Her desires were totally contrary to her understanding of herself. How could she lust after something so dark?

She heard the door to the main room open and then he was standing in the doorway of the bedroom, fully clothed and masked. Rey’s breath caught and her heart rate increased. She wanted him again. She let the sheet that was caught up to her chest fall to her hips. Kylo’s head turned to one side slightly and she could see him clench his fists.

“Your hungry again?” His modulated voice went right to her centre and she got up onto her knees.

“Perhaps.” She stared at his mask and found it no longer caused her much fear. Her eyes strayed to his hands and she imagined what they might feel like on her naked flesh.

Kylo took a few steps into the room reached up and pressed the buttons to release his mask, which he immediately threw to the bed. And then he was moving towards her, stare unwavering. He crawled across the bed like the predator he was and then rose up in front of her. He pulled her naked body against his clothed one a hand at her waist and one at the back of her head. Rey only had time for a surprised whimper before his mouth crashed onto hers. His lips were warm and soft but his tongue was insistent and she opened up to him immediately in a gasp. He plunged into her with an urgency that more than matched her own and she put her hands round his body and pulled him to her as hard as she could. She enjoyed the feeling of the rough spun material against her nipples and the leather of his belt at her waist. 

One of Kylo’s hands dropped to her bottom which he pulled hard against his arousal which she could feel even though all the layers of his clothes. He pulled back.

“I forgot to taste your mouth last night.”

“I want you so much.” She couldn’t help the desperation.

“Can I keep you naked and chained to the bed for a few weeks like a proper prisoner?” He had the smallest smile at the corner of his mouth. 

His gloved hand at her bottom was making circular motions that seemed to make places deep inside her start to open up.   
“Asking permission is missing the point slightly. You’re not a very good jailor.” She licked down his neck and then sucked at the tender flesh there. He shuddered.

“OK.” She felt him huff a breath. “I am going to chain your virginal body to my bed and then fuck you in every way I can possibly imagine. Repeatedly and very hard.”

Rey’s head spun and she went for his mouth again putting both her hands in his thick hair to pull him closer. She was almost driven insane by need. Kylo put both his gloved hands at Rey’s waist and gently pushed her down and away from him. She frowned at him.

“I want to fuck you so much.” His face looked so earnest.

“I could tell.” She found that was she smiling at him. 

“I mean I really want to. Right now. Feel you hot and wet round my cock. Make you cry out, push into you.” His face had no humour in it now. It was just pure animal desire. She stared right back, she couldn’t possibly look away. “But we can’t.”

Rey just looked at him. “Why not?” She pulled away slightly. “Can’t you just pull out at the end or something?”

He looked at her for a few moments and then let out an uncharacteristic laugh that seemed so unlike the First Order enforcer he was that she found she was smiling uncertainly.

“Such a practical little thing but I don’t think that’s a good idea. Lets take you down to medical and then…well. I’ll leave that to your imagination.” He moved to the side of the bed and sat there looking away from her. “Go take a shower. I think somebody’s coming.” He then picked up his helmet and moved into the main room. The door did chime and she heard his low tones and that of someone a bit more stilted. 

 

She came out of the fresher ten minutes later to find him sat on the bed. He was wearing his mask and that gave her pause. He stood.

“Get dressed. The Supreme leader wishes to see you now.” He then walked out of the room and Rey was left looking at an empty doorway. 

She found she was quite suddenly very afraid. She looked back to the bed that looked messy and lived in and there was a pile dark grey clothing on it. She approached it and picked them up. It was grey trousers and a tunic along with soft boots. The sort that would be easy to fight in. She put them on and then put her still damp hair into a messy bun. 

Then she went to the door and looked through. He was at the window. He looked tall and lonely and whereas a few moments before she felt she could touch him, now she didn’t. She swallowed. Rey had the sudden feeling that she might be losing something before she had really even known it.

“Before we go there is one thing.” Her voice sounded small and she tried to put some strength behind it. “On the island you said that you knew about my past. Will you tell me now?”

He kept looking out at the stars and the silence lasted so long she wondered if he was going to say anything at all. Then his modulated voice started. “My parents were never honest with me about my past. Where I came from. They were ashamed.” He shook his head slightly. “That old man that you call Master, still keeping secrets. They never learn.” 

He turned then but didn’t come close. He did take off his mask. “I knew you when you were little.” He let that sink in and Rey felt the beat of blood at her temple. “When you were maybe four you came to the school. So small. You cried in the night. Your parents sent you away like mine had. You liked me. Nobody else did.”

“At the end. The killing. I.” He looked down. “I didn’t know what they had planned. We had to get rid of the Jedi but I didn’t understand. You were the only one left when I got there. I stopped him. I took you. I hid you.” His voice had become quiet.

“You are Rey Kenobi. The Grand Niece of Obi Wan Kenobi.” He paused and looked at Rey and she could only stare at him. “ You are the last of your line. Your parents are dead.” Another moment of silence. “I left you on Jakku.”

Rey didn't make any noise but she felt hot tears on her cheek and a pressure building in her chest. She clamped down on all of it suddenly and completely. She turned her face away from him and tried to throw up barriers round her mind so he wouldn’t see anything inside her. There was a load roaring in her ears but she ignored it. She took a deep breath and straightened the clothing that she had just put on. Once she was sure that her voice was steady she stepped towards the door.

“Take me to Snoke.” 

"I should have come back for you." He whispered.

“Take me to Snoke.” Her voice was cold.

 

The walk to the room was made in silence. Rey was entirely wrapped up in deadening the conflicting emotions she was feeling. Kylo said nothing. A brooding wraith at her side. They were finally outside of a door that did not open immediately. Kylo stood looking at it and Rey waited at his side refusing to acknowledge him in any way. He turned to her.

"Don't hide anything from the Supreme Leader. He will see." There was a pause and she didn't react and didn't turn to him. He made a noise and then he was gripping both her arms. "I was trying to save you, don't you understand?" His grip was painful. She still didn't look at him. "Don't do this." Even his modulated voice now sounded strained and broken but she had nothing to give. Eventually he let her go and slowly turned towards the door. His fists were clenched and his head slightly bowed. He put his hand up to a panel and the large door slid open to the cavernous room beyond.

Kylo entered his walking stiff and she followed a few paces behind. It was dim and their steps echoed as they crossed a dark polished floor to a round dais on which Kylo stood. Beyond him and up some steps was a very large throne. Rey came to stand beside him. She waited but Kylo did nothing and she wondered what was supposed to happen next. Then she felt the malevolence start to coalesce in front of her as a shimmering blue image appeared. It was huge and she found herself craning her neck to see the creatures face. 

She hadn't really known what to expect but this was beyond anything she could have imagined. It wasn't what she saw but what she felt that overwhelmed her. His dark force presence was suffocating and made her want to run. She swayed where she stood. Kylo sank to his knees beside her. Rey turned slightly and then resolutely turned back to the creature. She would not kneel. She tried to let go of herself and reach for the light but she found none in this room and so was overwhelmed by the dark. She stumbled again but did not fall.

"Kylo Ren." The creatures echoing voice seemed to come from somewhere dead and frightening.

"Yes My Master."

"I thought your Father was your test but that is not so." There was a long pause.

"I will resist." She thought she heard panic in his voice.

"It is already too late for that." Snoke’s endless voice was soft as if he was talking to an errant child. "You have already failed."

"No, Master I can.."

"Enough!" his voice was angry now. Rey felt his attention turn to her and then her knees did give out. "Girl." He extended the word and she felt nauseous. "You would take him from me?"

Rey tried to gather herself. "I don't want him." She shouted in defiance.

“You cannot deceive me. It is no matter. Just an inconvenience.”

"Master don’t.” Kylo really did sound desperate now. He rose and wrenched his mask from his head throwing it to the side. “She will turn. I can turn her!” 

“No child. She would turn you.” Snoke almost sounded regretful. 

“Please.” Rey had never heard Kylo beg and terror settled on her like a great weight.

“You think I will kill her? No. Wasteful and the bond complicates things. I have another way.” 

Kylo turned to Rey and she looked up at him. He took a step towards her his hand reaching out.

Snoke’s voice slithered over them deadening any life or resistance they had. “I have no use for you this way. Sleep.” Kylo crumpled to the floor a few feet from her. “I see the weakness in him. I have always seen it but with more training he will see his true path once again. You I need to remove. For now.”

Rey could not take her eyes from Kylo’s crumpled form. She had started to cry. Something terrible was about to happen. She felt it from the force, she felt it from the creature in front of her. She tried to stand but found a huge weight pushing her down. 

“He hid you from me for a long time. Curious that he could.” The lighting in the room became darker. “Now I shall hide you from him. Look at me Girl.” She tried to resist but there was no way. His power seemed to dwarf everything she had ever felt. Her eyes were drawn to the creatures. “You will no longer exist.” His frightening face took on the rictus of a smile. “And he will forget, for you are nothing.” Pain started to burrow into her eyes and into her mind but she couldn’t close her eyes. “Who are you?” The pain had spread through her whole skull and she fell to the floor. “Who are you?”

“Rey.” She screamed.

“No.” His image stood and came closer to her. The sickly light of him filled her vision. The pain was in every part of her now. “You are nothing.” And then he started pouring waves of darkness into her until she was suffocating int it. “Who are you?”.

In the taking of a breath she was gone. A long pause.

“I am nothing.”

“Good. It is a start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is the conclusion of this part of the story. If you would like to continue with it then read Trojan Force.


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